The present invention relates to a thermochemical process for the manufacture of hydrogen and oxygen from water.
A cycle for the production of hydrogen by virtue of the oxidation reaction of iodine has been suggested by Abraham and Schridnir [Science, 180 959 (1973)]. In this cycle, lithium nitrite is oxidized by iodine at about 27.degree.C to produce lithium nitrate and hydrogen iodide, so that hydrogen iodide produces hydrogen through thermal dissociation and lithium nitrate produces oxygen through thermal decomposition respectively. The oxidation of lithium nitrite by iodine involved in this cycle, however, can hardly be described as proceeding smoothly. This utiliation of lithium, therefore, can hardly be called advantageous from the standpoint of natural resources.
An object of the present invention is to provide a thermochemical process for the manufacture of hydrogen and oxygen from water, said process being such that it involves only a few unit reactions which invariably proceed smoothly to give reaction products capable of being separated by easy operations.
Another object of this invention is to provide a thermochemical process for the manufacture of hydrogen and oxygen from water, said process being such that the process involves less consumption of thermal energy than the conventional method and, therefore, proves advantageous from the economical point of view.